[[Image:Edward_Sackville.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Edward Sackville, later 4th Earl of Dorset, c. 1614, by William Larkin]]

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[[Image:Edward Sackville.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Edward Sackville.jpg]]

*The county is believed to have been named after Dorchester, a city in England, or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sackville,_4th_Earl_of_Dorset Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset],&nbsp;a family friend of the Calverts.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maryland_county_name_etymologies "List of Counties in Maryland,"] Wikipedia.</ref>

*The county is believed to have been named after Dorchester, a city in England, or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sackville,_4th_Earl_of_Dorset Edward Sackville, 4th Earl of Dorset],&nbsp;a family friend of the Calverts.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maryland_county_name_etymologies "List of Counties in Maryland,"] Wikipedia.</ref>

Maryland State Archives' ''[http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/religion/cfm/dsp_county.cfm Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions]'' identifies all churches known to have existed in Dorchester County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions.

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Maryland State Archives' ''[http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/religion/cfm/dsp_county.cfm Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions]'' identifies all churches known to have existed in Dorchester County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions. The following records from their collection have been digitized and made available to view for free online:

Trinity Church was built by 1690.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4045 Trinity P.E. Church], The Historical Marker Database, accessed 7 March 2011.</ref> A chapel of ease served parishioners on Taylor's Island.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=4043 Chapel of Ease Old Trinity Episcopal Church Circa 1707], The Historical Marker Database, accessed 7 March 2011.</ref>

The [http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc4300/sc4341/html/search.html New ''Early Settlers of Maryland''] database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' ''Early Settlers of Maryland'' and Carson Gibb's ''Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland''." Available online, courtesy: [http://www.msa.md.gov/ Maryland State Archives].

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The [http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc4300/sc4341/html/search.html New ''Early Settlers of Maryland''] database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' ''Early Settlers of Maryland'' and Carson Gibb's ''Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland''." Available online, courtesy: [http://www.msa.md.gov/ Maryland State Archives].

Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the [http://www.courts.state.md.us/ Maryland Judiciary] and the [http://www.msa.md.gov/ Maryland State Archives], free images and indexes of the complete series of Dorchester County Deed Books (1669-present) have been uploaded to their website: [http://mdlandrec.net/msa/stagser/s1700/s1741/cfm/index.cfm MDLandRec.Net:&nbsp;A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland]. (Requires free registration.)

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Through a Joint eGovernment Service of the [http://www.courts.state.md.us/ Maryland Judiciary] and the [http://www.msa.md.gov/ Maryland State Archives], free images and indexes of the complete series of Dorchester County Deed Books (1669-present) have been uploaded to their website: [http://mdlandrec.net/msa/stagser/s1700/s1741/cfm/index.cfm MDLandRec.Net:&nbsp;A Digital Image Retrieval System for Land Records in Maryland]. (Requires free registration.)

*''A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]''. 1841. Digital version at [http://books.google.com/books?id=W7JYAAAAMAAJ Google Books] ''et. al''. 1967 reprint: {{FHL|282860|item}} 973 X2pc 1840. [See Maryland, Dorchester County on page 128.]

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===== '''''War of 1812''''' =====

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*''List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance...'' Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. {{FHL|286899|item}} 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at [http://books.google.com/books?id=t7oqAAAAMAAJ Google Books] and [http://www.archive.org/details/listpensionerso02buregoog Internet Archive]. [See Vol. 5, Maryland, Dorchester County, pp. 145-146. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

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Civil War

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<br>Civil War service men from Dorchester County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Dorchester County.

*Dorchester County newspapers are identified in [http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/newspapers/cfm/dsp_county.cfm "Guide to Maryland Newspapers,"] available online, courtesy: [http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/cfm/index.cfm Special Collections, Maryland State Archives].

*Dorchester County newspapers are identified in [http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/newspapers/cfm/dsp_county.cfm "Guide to Maryland Newspapers,"] available online, courtesy: [http://speccol.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/catalog/cfm/index.cfm Special Collections, Maryland State Archives].

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Dorchester County, Maryland Old Newspapers are [http://dcgm.tripod.com/Dailybanner.html available online].

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Dorchester County, Maryland Old Newspapers are [http://dcgm.tripod.com/Dailybanner.html available online].

*'''[1783] '''[http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/stagser/s1400/s1437/html/1437do.html Dorchester County Tax List of 1783]: This is an alphabetical index to names to all property owners assessed. The index cards at the [http://www.msa.md.gov/ Maryland State Archives] include county, hundred, names of tracts of land and whether individuals were paupers or single males as provided in the law.

*[http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=localitydetails&subject=189719&subject_disp=Maryland%2C+Dorchester&columns=*,0,0 FamilySearch.org] Family History Library Catalog for Dorchester County.

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*{{FHL|Maryland%2C+Dorchester|subject|disp=FamilySearch.org}} Family History Library Catalog for Dorchester County.

Church

Maryland State Archives' Guide to Maryland Religious Institutions identifies all churches known to have existed in Dorchester County, Maryland. It covers all denominations and includes record descriptions. The following records from their collection have been digitized and made available to view for free online:

Gazetteers

Immigration

The New Early Settlers of Maryland database is a great place to start searching for immigrants who had arrived in the colony by the 1680s. The database "comprises 34,326 entries from Gust Skordas' Early Settlers of Maryland and Carson Gibb's Supplement to the Early Settlers of Maryland." Available online, courtesy: Maryland State Archives.

Local Histories

Maps

Military

Revolutionary War

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census]. 1841. Digital version at Google Bookset. al. 1967 reprint: FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840. [See Maryland, Dorchester County on page 128.]

War of 1812

List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, Maryland, Dorchester County, pp. 145-146. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War

Civil War service men from Dorchester County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are the military units that were formed in or had many men from Dorchester County.

Probate

Taxation

[1783] Dorchester County Tax List of 1783: This is an alphabetical index to names to all property owners assessed. The index cards at the Maryland State Archives include county, hundred, names of tracts of land and whether individuals were paupers or single males as provided in the law.